--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wives invariably flourish when deserted…" description: "\"Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg" --- # Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the… ![“Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often ends in disaster.” quote by William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg) > “Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often ends in disaster.” [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men who abandon responsibilities for idealistic pursuits often cause suffering for their families. **In simple terms:** Abandoning duties harms loved ones. Key Takeaway Honor commitments. Themes relationships responsibility idealism Mood reflective somber Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - marriage - parenting - career choices Key Concepts family dynamics personal sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - Is personal fulfillment worth familial cost? - How balance idealism with duty? A Different Perspective Idealism may be noble but can be reckless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Infidelity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infidelity/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Reckless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reckless/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I was not a good father in my first marriage. Although there are ways of deserting the family without leaving physically, I was deserted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/i-was-not-a-good-father-in-my-first-marriage-although-there-are-ways/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) > [When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in-i-asked-for-my-money-back-on/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I'm getting very old and my bones ache. My sins are deserting me, and if I could only have my time over again I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-m-getting-very-old-and-my-bones-ache-my-sins-are-deserting-me-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Where are you my heart is searching but my mind is deserting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-johnson/where-are-you-my-heart-is-searching-but-my-mind-is-deserting/) [Natalya Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-johnson/) > [We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/we-cannot-defend-freedom-abroad-by-deserting-it-at-home/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [When our vices desert us, we flatter ourselves that we are deserting our vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/when-our-vices-desert-us-we-flatter-ourselves-that-we-are-deserting/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [The wives who are not deserted, but who have to feed and clothe and comfort and scold and advise, are the true objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-wives-who-are-not-deserted-but-who-have-to-feed-and-clothe-and/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Our hearts are breaking... We are lonely and deserted, sad and sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-murdoch-mackay/our-hearts-are-breaking-we-are-lonely-and-deserted-sad-and-sick/) [Alexander Murdoch Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-murdoch-mackay/) > [He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune has lost the arms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-wealthy-and-immersed-in-the-study/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Wealth accumulates, and men decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/wealth-accumulates-and-men-decay/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“Later the place was as deserted as Malcolm Muggeridge's Christmas party of fellow intellectuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-donaldson/later-the-place-was-as-deserted-as-malcolm-muggeridge-s-christmas/) [William Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-donaldson/) > [I deserted the world and sought solitude because I became tired of rendering courtesy to those multitudes who believe that humility is a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-deserted-the-world-and-sought-solitude-because-i-became-tired-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A nice pop star would do you nice on one of those deserted islands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/a-nice-pop-star-would-do-you-nice-on-one-of-those-deserted-islands/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [A woman may live without a lover, but a lover once admitted, she never goes through life with only one. She is deserted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bulwer-1st-baron-dalling-and-bulwer/a-woman-may-live-without-a-lover-but-a-lover-once-admitted-she-never/) [Henry Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bulwer-1st-baron-dalling-and-bulwer/) > [Pentagon records show that at least 8,000 members of the all-volunteer U.S. Army have deserted since the Iraq war began. Hey, at least somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/pentagon-records-show-that-at-least-8-000-members-of-the-all/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) ## More by William McFee > [Responsibility's like a string we can only see the middle of. Both ends are out of sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/responsibility-s-like-a-string-we-can-only-see-the-middle-of-both/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Woman dwell always in the palace of unpalatable truth and never by any chance is there a magic talisman to save them from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/woman-dwell-always-in-the-palace-of-unpalatable-truth-and-never-by/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [There is far too much talk of love and grief benumbing the faculties, turning the hair gray, and destroying a man's interest in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/there-is-far-too-much-talk-of-love-and-grief-benumbing-the-faculties/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [It is so much easier to tell intimate things in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/it-is-so-much-easier-to-tell-intimate-things-in-the-dark/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right, writes no guarantee against misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-ever-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-writes-no/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [“People don't seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-is-no-guarantee/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [An Englishman never takes his collar off when he is writing. How can you expect him to show you his soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/an-englishman-never-takes-his-collar-off-when-he-is-writing-how-can/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [The world belongs to the Enthusiast who keeps cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-world-belongs-to-the-enthusiast-who-keeps-cool/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [A trouble is a trouble, and the general idea, in the country, is to treat it as such, rather than to snatch the knotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/a-trouble-is-a-trouble-and-the-general-idea-in-the-country-is-to/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [It may be that, while we plodding realists go on, for ever preoccupied with our daily chores, abstracting a microscopic pleasure from each microscopic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/it-may-be-that-while-we-plodding-realists-go-on-for-ever-preoccupied/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/people-don-t-ever-seem-to-realize-that-doing-what-s-right-is-no/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [Fear, born of that stern matron, Responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/fear-born-of-that-stern-matron-responsibility/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [A young man must let his ideas grow, not be continually rooting them up to see yow they are getting on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/a-young-man-must-let-his-ideas-grow-not-be-continually-rooting-them/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [The artist in his teens who is happy is a charlatan. Life comes bursting in all around lis too suddenly, too crudely, too cruelly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/the-artist-in-his-teens-who-is-happy-is-a-charlatan-life-comes/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/if-fate-means-you-to-lose-give-him-a-good-fight-anyhow/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) [Explore all 30 William McFee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) ## More Deserted quotes > [Pentagon records show that at least 8,000 members of the all-volunteer U.S. Army have deserted since the Iraq war began. Hey, at least somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/pentagon-records-show-that-at-least-8-000-members-of-the-all/) [Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/) > [A woman may live without a lover, but a lover once admitted, she never goes through life with only one. She is deserted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-bulwer-1st-baron-dalling-and-bulwer/a-woman-may-live-without-a-lover-but-a-lover-once-admitted-she-never/) [Henry Bulwer, 1st Baron Dalling and Bulwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-bulwer-1st-baron-dalling-and-bulwer/) > [A nice pop star would do you nice on one of those deserted islands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/a-nice-pop-star-would-do-you-nice-on-one-of-those-deserted-islands/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [I deserted the world and sought solitude because I became tired of rendering courtesy to those multitudes who believe that humility is a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-deserted-the-world-and-sought-solitude-because-i-became-tired-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Later the place was as deserted as Malcolm Muggeridge's Christmas party of fellow intellectuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-donaldson/later-the-place-was-as-deserted-as-malcolm-muggeridge-s-christmas/) [William Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-donaldson/) > [Wealth accumulates, and men decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/wealth-accumulates-and-men-decay/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune has lost the arms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-wealthy-and-immersed-in-the-study/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Our hearts are breaking... We are lonely and deserted, sad and sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-murdoch-mackay/our-hearts-are-breaking-we-are-lonely-and-deserted-sad-and-sick/) [Alexander Murdoch Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-murdoch-mackay/) > [Art as an aesthetic principle was supported by thousands of years of discernment and psychic rewards, but art as a commodity was held up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/art-as-an-aesthetic-principle-was-supported-by-thousands-of-years-of/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [So he was deserted. The whole world was clamouring: Kill yourself, kill yourself, for our sakes. But why should he kill himself for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/so-he-was-deserted-the-whole-world-was-clamouring-kill-yourself-kill/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A great emigration necessarily implies unhappiness of some kind or other in the country that is deserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/a-great-emigration-necessarily-implies-unhappiness-of-some-kind-or/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [“The the uncertainty was dispelled and the melancholy lifted as he saw a familiar stocky figure moving near one of the tents. "Halt!" he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/the-the-uncertainty-was-dispelled-and-the-melancholy-lifted-as-he-saw/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [God never deserts a man, unless He is deserted by that man first. For even if a man shall have committed grievous sins once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caesarius-of-arles/god-never-deserts-a-man-unless-he-is-deserted-by-that-man-first-for/) Caesarius of Arles > [The rise of broadband and growing ubiquity of Internet access excites me the most. The world changes a lot when, no matter where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/the-rise-of-broadband-and-growing-ubiquity-of-internet-access-excites/) [Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/) > [It was one of those somber evenings when the sighing of the wind resembles the moans of a dying man; a storm was brewing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/it-was-one-of-those-somber-evenings-when-the-sighing-of-the-wind/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) Browse all 175 Deserted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often ends in disaster.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William McFee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deserted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d97/william-mcfee-20867_deserted_wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted_1263820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about…” — William McFee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William McFee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ......", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```